Labor

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Shannon Sullivan, our Host, lead the first of a new series of shows on labor issues with this on the union apprenticeship programs. We had guests from IUOE, IBEW, and UA. Shannon interviewed the union apprenticeship directors from a variety of trades on what union jobs have to offer the youth of today and the impact of the president's economic stimulus on the metropolitan DC building trades. In short, for over 100 years, union construction trades have built our nation’s capital region. Local unions organized workers to provide fair wages and job safety, create funds to support members’ health care and pensions and train new generations of skilled construction trades workers. These are workers who continue our tradition of creating and restoring the buildings that make our community and nation proud of Washington DC.

Mark Levine, our Host will discuss with his guests the intricacies of the political maneuvering and issues on this topic…. The confirmed guest is Jaline Quinto, Communications Director, DC Vote. Others from the various offices of the mayor and Congress as well as gun control have been invited. The only thing certain on this topic is that nothing is certain, but as shown on the title of this episode, DC now appears to have it's best chance yet to gain a vote in the House.

More Information and where to view these shows follows…….As well as Watch them "Live" and post comments in the Ustream Chat Room

There are 222 co-sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in the House of Representatives, meaning that passage there is a done deal. On the Senate side, where 60 votes are needed for cloture, only 40 Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors. Those 40 include unlikely names such as Joe Lieberman, Bill Nelson, and Tim Johnson (the latter two are from right-to-work states).

Mark Warner and Jim Webb are two of the 18 Democratic Senators who've yet to say whether or not they will vote for EFCA. As far as Sen. Warner goes, this is no big surprise. He was the only Democrat running for the Senate last year who never took a definitive position. Others, like Nebraska's Ben Nelson or Pryor & Lincoln from Arkansas (the land of Wal-Mart), you could also see coming.

The premise of right-wing messaging around every issue that touches working families, from the Auto Industry debates to the Stimulus, to the upcoming battle over Employee Free Choice, is that workers need to swallow pay cuts, give up their benefits, suffer the whim of the market. It's disgusting. Workers are the backbone of this nation. The Bush economy was built on the dustbowlification of the American workplace. The wealthiest Americans got much much richer, while working family wages grew not at all.

Wall Street and Washington just don't get it. It's a race to the bottom of the wage scale that is destroying America, and endangering the American dream. Meanwhile, Republicans are doubling down on the anti-government, free trade, anti-labor lies which devastated the world financial system.

They've been successfully waging class warfare for decades, and it's time to join the fight.

Eric Cantor's office is responding to the AFSCME/UAC ad blitz with a 1970's-vintage AFCSME public service announcement that's been redubbed with an Andrew Dice Clay-type voice over touting the union's accomplishments in "picking up your f------ garbage."

DEMPAC

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